Chris Leben: The CagePotato Retrospective Interview

Over the last six years, we’ve watched Chris Leben evolve from The Ultimate Fighter‘s original wild-ass brawler, to a multi-faceted contender who has the tools to defeat virtually any middleweight opponent on any given night. In fact, two of Leben’s last three fights have resulted in the greatest victories of his entire career — his epic UFC 116 Fight of the Night against Yoshihiro Akiyama, and his stunning 27-second knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132.

On November 5th, Leben will headline UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, against Mark Munoz, in a meeting that could put one of them on the short-list for a title shot. We spent some time on the phone with the Crippler last week and discussed all the notable battles in his life that have led him to where he is today, facing yet another massive opportunity. Enjoy, and check out our previous Retrospective Interviews right here.

THE ORIGIN STORY

CHRIS LEBEN: “I think I was in the fourth grade when I got into my first fight. I can’t remember what it was over — something on the playground. But that was my first real, non-wrestling match, hitting-each-other-in-the-face kind of fight. And all the other kids just stood around and watched. I didn’t get into fights a lot, but I definitely had some good ones, like all kids that are a little more on the wild side.

I did a little wrestling in grade school, and something called Christian Karate that I did in like third grade. Then I started boxing in eighth grade and I actually took that really seriously.

Even when I was in junior high, my plan was always to fight in the UFC. I joined Team Quest right after I turned 21. You have to remember that at 185 pounds, I was training with Matt Lindland, Evan Tanner, Chael Sonnen, Ed Herman — we were all in the same room, every day. And every day I walked into the gym, my first coach Robert Follis would say, ‘Good morning Chris, how are you doing?’ And I’d say, ‘Did you get me a fight yet? Did you get me a fight yet?’ I’d never say, ‘Good morning, how are you,’ it was always ‘Did you get me a fight yet?’ I believe it was about six months until I had my first amateur fight.”

CHRIS LEBEN vs. MIKE SWICK

WEC 9, 1/16/04
Result: Leben wins via second-round knockout and becomes the first WEC middleweight champion

“That was the first time I met Dana White. He was actually sitting in the front row for that fight, so I went up and talked to him, which was a pretty big deal for me. At that point, I think The Ultimate Fighter probably wasn’t much more than a pipe dream for the Fertittas. But me and Dana talked about fighting Sakurai in PRIDE because he was a little big after his knee injury back then, and possibly getting into the UFC sometime.”

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 1

January-April 2005

“I kind of look at it like boot camp: You don’t necessarily enjoy it while you’re there, but once it’s done you’re glad you did it. And don’t get me wrong, I had some great times on the show, some fun moments, and I learned a lot — both about fighting and myself — but if they said, ‘Hey Chris, we want you be a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter right now,’ would I jump at that opportunity? To be a coach, yeah, I’d jump at that. But to be a competitor and live in that house with all those other guys, at my age, where I am now in my life? Absolutely fucking not.

The top-tier of the martial arts world is a small world, and we’re the original [cast], so I feel camaraderie with those guys. Every time I see Stephan Bonnar we’re always telling war stories.”

On the previous rumors of Chris Leben being booked to face his TUF nemesis Josh Koscheck: “It’s funny, the guys at my gym know more about what’s going on in the sport from me. Half the time I hear about who I’m fighting from some random fight-school member that read it on a blog somewhere. The Internet’s not really my favorite thing, but I heard some people at my gym saw that idea being kicked around on forums, and I loved it, but the opportunity never came to me. I’d love to take that fight.”

Chris Leben vs. Anderson Silva

UFC Fight Night 5 — June 28, 2006 Result: Silva wins via first-round knockout.

On his infamous pre-fight promo:

“Here’s the deal: When you sit down with the UFC and give them a pre-fight interview, what are you supposed to say? I’m not going to say they tell you what to say [during the interviews], but it’s certainly coached, and they want you to be a tough guy. So I couldn’t say, ‘Hey I didn’t want to take this fight, I didn’t think I was ready for it, but I’m taking it anyway because the UFC told me I had to.’

I asked not to take the fight. I thought it was a bad idea, plain and simple. My coach at the time said, ‘You know, Chris, I’d have you fight anybody in the UFC right now except for this fight. I don’t think you should take it for your style and the matchup.’ I believe that I’m a different fighter now, and I’d love to have a chance to fight Anderson Silva five years later, because I’ve grown substantially as a martial artist.

I truly believe that everything more or less happens for a reason, and I wasn’t ready at that time. I was not ready to be world champion, I was not ready to carry that burden outside of the cage. My skills were not where they needed to be. Since then, my career’s allowed me to grow, it’s allowed me to move to Hawaii, and a lot of things have happened to me that would not have happened if things would have worked out differently. Who knows, I probably would have been a champion then lost two fights in a row and gotten kicked out of the UFC. But I’ve managed to hang around for another five years.”

Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin

UFC Fight Night 11 — September 19, 2007 Result: Leben wins via third-round knockout.

“I definitely react a little different than other people when I get hit. I know I’m tough and I know what I do. Obviously at that point there’s not a lot of calibrated thinking going on. A lot of that is just who you are as a person, your personality, everything that has made you who into you are at that moment, and how you’re going to react in the cage. In my case it’s worked for the better sometimes, and at other times — I’ve always said it myself — it’s worked for the worse.”

Chris Leben vs. Michael Bisping

UFC 89 — October 18, 2008 Result: Bisping wins via unanimous decision.

On the probation violation that delayed the fight, and the failed drug test that came after:

”You’re fucking killing me man. Why don’t we talk about my next fight? I don’t dig this shit. That was so many years ago, and people continue to want to ask me about this. I fucked up, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, fucking bury it. Thank you. There’s a lot of personal decisions that have happened in my life, and it can be tough sometimes because that’s what everybody wants to talk about. Going to jail was not a fun thing, and it’s not really something I want to talk about in an interview I’m doing to promote myself. It’s alright. It’s alright. I didn’t mean to snap at you, I’m sorry.”

CHRIS LEBEN vs. WANDERLEI SILVA

UFC 132, 7/2/11
Result: Leben wins via first-round knockout

“Wanderlei Silva was my hero. Me and my best friend would walk across town and go to this Japanese toy store that had bootleg PRIDE videos when I first started training, just to watch Wanderlei Silva fight, because that was back when you couldn’t really watch PRIDE in the United States. The guy scared the shit out of me. I thought he’d maybe kill somebody out there. So the fight was one of those ‘be careful what you wish for’ moments.

I wanted to fight Wanderlei Silva not because I thought I’d beat him easy. But I truly want to have epic fights. I fancy myself to be a martial artist, and somebody that strives to grow and progress, and I knew that was a tough measuring stick for me. There’s always that, ‘How do I stack up now against him?’ It wasn’t that I thought I could win. I’m not afraid to admit when I’m scared. I’m not afraid to admit that I think he’s a better fighter than me. But a man faces his fears, and that was more or less my thought process when I fought Wanderlei.”

CHRIS LEBEN vs. MARK MUNOZ

UFC 138, 11/5/11
Result: TBA

“I’d like to get back up there again. I’ve won four out of my last five. My Brian Stann fight was definitely a major bummer; I was not at 100%, you know, but he did great. I want to see how I stack up, and I think that I can be the guy with belt one day. So right now, Munoz and I are fighting for that top tier — the person who’s #1 contender after Chael [Sonnen].

I think I have a little more experience than Munoz, and honestly, I think I’m more technical. I think my jiu-jitsu game is sharper. He’s obviously a better wrestler, but I would say I hold the advantage pretty much anywhere. I’ve been doing it longer. If I wanted to tell you Mark Munoz’s best attribute, I would say it’s sheer will, and his toughness. The guy is a fighter. He’s a fighter at heart, so I know that it’s not gonna be easy. He’s a tough guy to put away.”

…AND BEYOND

“I don’t aspire to be Randy Couture. I aspire to be married with children. I have my gym; my true passion is coaching and training. I feel that I’m growing exponentially right now as a martial artist. So I want to see how far I’m gonna go, but definitely when I feel the time come, I won’t be afraid to hang it up. How much longer do I have, I’m not sure. I’m gonna have to listen to my body. But I give myself three to five. I’m not shooting to fight at 40, I don’t want it.

I want to be remembered for growth. I want people to look at me and say, ‘Wow, this is where he started and look where he ended up.’”